I’ve been given a glasshouse and wonder what grows well in the glasshouse and what doesn’t. My tomatoes are doing great but the lettuces and spinach are not. Also wondering about a mushroom farm; are they good in a glasshouse?

Answer

Great to hear your tomatoes are doing well. Other vegetables that would be suitable to grow in a glasshouse are; beans, cucumbers, courgettes and eggplants.

Your lettuce and spinach are struggling because it’s getting too hot; possibly caused by a lack of adequate ventilation. This causes spinach to bolt to seed and your lettuce will grow too quickly, with hearting lettuce such as iceberg failing to form a heart.

If you’re growing your plants directly in the soil in the glasshouse it’s critical to refresh and add nutrients back into your soil annually. Add compost and veggie mix and mix well with the existing soil. Compost adds rich organic matter, stimulating microbial and earthworm activity. It also improves soil structure and drainage. Daltons Garden Time Vegetable Mix contains added fertilisers and nutrients for healthy veggie production. The same applies if you are growing in large containers; replace old mix with Daltons Premium Tub Mix each season.

In terms of mushrooms, they do not grow in glasshouses. As fungi they prefer dark damp conditions.